an initiative by SEEK Development
Filter to your needs on the right
Search our database
April 16, 2024 | UK, Family Planning, Global Health, WASH & Sanitation, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Nutritious Food Systems, Climate | Share this update
On April 16, 2024, UK Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Mitchell announced an additional GBP100 million (US$119 million) in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia.
The funding is slated to be used to support Ethiopia’s access to primary healthcare services, support communities in becoming more climate resilient, and provide help for people displaced due to drought and extreme weather.
The pledge was made at the UK co-hosted Ethiopia pledging conference with OCHA. Ethiopia is facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with over 21 million requiring assistance, 15 million people facing food insecurity, and 4 million people internally displaced.
March 28, 2024 | UK, Gender Equality, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, WASH & Sanitation, Global Health, Nutritious Food Systems | Share this update
On March 28, 2024, UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell committed to increasing humanitarian ODA to Sudan to GBP89 million (US$106 million) in 2024/25 in the face of growing humanitarian need in the region.
The commitment was made by Mitchell while on a trip to Chad, where he acknowledged the growing number of refugees from Sudan arriving in the country.
Some of the funding is slated to go to UNICEF for emergency and life-saving food assistance and nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children and to support survivors of gender-based violence. The funding will also support the WFP to provide assorted food commodities, including cereals, pulses, oils, and salt for thousands of people.
March 25, 2024 | UK, Canada, US, EUI, WASH & Sanitation, Nutritious Food Systems, Global Health | Share this update
On March 25, 2024, amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Open Canada is criticized the government of Canada for its inaction to address the public health and nutrition crisis, as well as the government’s lack of focus on the African continent as a whole.
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan followed the outbreak of war in April 2023, with 8 million people displaced, roughly half the population (approximately 25 million people) in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, a cholera outbreak, and a widespread famine predicted by June 2024.
Open Canada criticized the government for its passivity in the crisis, with neither Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nor Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly having spoken publicly about Sudan since shortly after the outbreak of war. While Canada evacuated its Sudanese embassy in April 2023, it did not follow other donor countries in maintaining the presence of a senior official in the region to assist in conflict resolution or support key international humanitarian and development organizations. Open Canada also noted that, unlike the EU, UK, and US, Canada has not imposed sanctions on Sudan.
The group also criticized Canada's apathetic approach to the region more broadly. Canada announced a new Foreign Policy Engagement Plan for Africa in 2022, however, the strategy has since been transitioned into a “framework” with the Canadian government yet to release any details of the plan. Open Canada called on the Canadian government to implement a proper engagement strategy in Africa, particularly amid the growing humanitarian, development, and security crisis in Sudan.
March 24, 2024 | UK, Education, Agriculture, Gender Equality, Agricultural R&D, Nutritious Food Systems, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, WASH & Sanitation, Climate, Global Health, Security policy | Share this update
On March 24, 2024, BOND published a new manifesto setting out the steps the next UK government should take to help deliver on the SDGs and work in solidarity with its partners.
The manifesto is based around seven key asks:
January 27, 2024 | UK, US, Nutrition, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, WASH & Sanitation, Education | Share this update
On January 27, 2024, it was announced that the UK has joined the US and other nations in freezing its funding for the UNRWA for Palestinians in the Near East in light of allegations that 12 UNRWA staff took part in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.
The UK government noted that while it remains committed to getting vital humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, it was temporarily pausing future funding while the allegations are reviewed. The UK was the third-largest donor to UNRWA in 2020, but its funding fell sharply in 2021 and 2022. No recorded funding was delivered in 2023.
Assistance workers and Palestinian advocates have stated that freezing funding could have dire impact on humanitarian relief to Gaza.
November 20, 2023 | UK, Education, Gender Equality, Agricultural R&D, Nutritious Food Systems, WASH & Sanitation, Climate | Share this update
On November 20, 2023, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched a new White Paper on International Development, the first since 2009, which set out a progressive, whole-of-government approach to accelerate the delivery of the SDGs over the next seven years.
The White Paper provided a return to focusing UK development on the goal of eradicating poverty, which experts noted was largely neglected by previous strategies. It presented two further key goals: tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. The paper called for a new approach to partnerships based on country ownership, accountability, and transparency.
Though experts noted that the paper seemed to signal that the UK has recommitted to international development, it did not make new major financial commitments. The focus of the paper was on mobilizing resources beyond ODA for development, including the City of London’s private finance and expertise, stretching multilateral finance, and tackling trade, tax and illicit flows, as well as outlining policy priorities.
A return to delivering 0.7% ODA/GNI when fiscally feasible was mentioned briefly in the paper. Neither the Foreign Secretary nor the Minister for Development mentioned 0.7% ODA/GNI as a goal in their respective prefaces.
Six key themes from the paper included:
One of the most significant commitments was the aim to spend 50% of UK bilateral ODA in LDCs, prioritizing ODA resources to LICs. In 2021, the UK only provided 19.1% of resources to LDCs and has never exceeded 33% since 2013. A commitment to 50% is seen by experts as a monumental change in bilateral allocations. The White Paper also committed the BII to invest half of its resources in so-called poor and fragile states by 2030.
The 2024 UK election sets a narrow timeframe for the current Conservative government to implement the goals laid out by the paper. The progressive and broad framing, however, indicated to experts that the paper may not necessarily be jettisoned by a potential Labor government.
Development NGOs in the UK have been broadly welcoming of the document, but have criticized the government for ODA cuts and called for a return to 0.7% ODA/GNI.
November 1, 2023 | UK, Education, Agriculture, Gender Equality, Nutritious Food Systems, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, Agricultural R&D, WASH & Sanitation, Climate, Global health R&D, Global Health | Share this update
On November 1, 2023, the UK government announced that it will provide GBP38 million (US$46 million) to a new GBP80 million (US$96 million) global initiative to speed up the use of AI to support international development.
The announcement was made at the inaugural AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, UK. The initiative, which is also being supported by Canada, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US, and partners in Africa, aims to utilize AI to combat inequality and boost prosperity, primarily in Africa. It will focus on building the capacity of and supporting African AI expertise to address long-standing development challenges.
The UK’s funding will come from a new phase of the UK AI for Development Programme. The following goals were listed as priorities until 2028:
US$ amounts are cited directly from sources; in the absence of an official conversion, they are calculated using the previous week's average of the US Federal Reserve's daily exchange rates.
Need an overview of donor funding to a specific issue area?
Be the first to know. Get our expert analyses directly in your inbox.
Our team of country experts and analysts bring you fresh content every week to help you drive impact.
By clicking Sign Up you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions .
SEEK Development
The Donor Tracker is an initiative by SEEK DevelopmentContact
SEEK DevelopmentCotheniusstrasse 310407 BerlinGermany